Dilemma over Desserts
by Oozora27
Summary: The best thing to round off one's lunch was a hearty dessert, after considering one's recommended calorie intake for lunch. However, Inspector Tsunemori Akane's latest choice of dessert does not seem to sit well with her fellow unit members.


**Summary: The best thing to round off one's lunch was a hearty dessert, after considering one's recommended calorie intake for lunch. However, Inspector Tsunemori Akane's latest choice of dessert does not seem to sit well with her fellow unit members.**

**[Set between Episodes 2 to 3.]**

* * *

For the Enforcers and Inspectors of Division 1, working for the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau was a job that kept one busy the _millisecond_ the work shift started.

Every so often, citizens with clouded Hues as recorded by their Psycho-Passes would emerge, resulting in the unit having to leave the office premises to start the hunt. While it gave the members a chance to take a break from paperwork and stretch their legs, each and every one of these cases had to be written up and submitted to one of the two Inspectors, who would have to proof-read before handing it over to the higher authorities.

In addition, the writing of reports added to the seemingly never ending stack of paperwork for each individual, who would then have to work overtime simply to reduce the amount of paperwork to a manageable pile, ready to be tackled during the next work shift. The cycle would then be repeated the next day, the following day, and so on.

Oh, the joy.

The only respite that both the Inspectors and Enforcers had from work was the lunch hour. Starting from 1300 hours to 1400 hours, it allowed those working the earlier shift to rest after a mentally draining shift, while their colleagues on the next shift, which started at 1430 hours, could arrive earlier for their shift and take the opportunity to eat in the MWPSB cafeteria if they chose to.

The corresponding lunch break also provided a platform for all the members of the unit to meet each other at least once so as to foster stronger ties between the Inspectors and Enforcers.

While some protested about this arrangement (mainly the Inspectors), this was vital as stronger ties within a unit was synonymous with better teamwork, which meant a higher success rate in cracking cases and a possible promotion for the Inspectors. Hence, the Inspectors tended to grit their teeth and reluctantly _socialize_ with their subordinates for the sake of a better future for themselves.

For Division One, the cafeteria interaction was replaced by office interaction. As the Enforcers' living quarters were in the MWPSB building in order to monitor them (they were latent criminals after all), even after their shifts, they could usually still be found in the office keeping themselves entertained. Kagari had his gaming console, Kunizuka had her guitar magazines, Kougami reviewed past cases while nursing a cigarette, and Masaoka simply drank in the atmosphere of the room in silence, occasionally offering help when needed.

Unlike Inspector Ginoza Nobuchika, one could say that Inspector Tsunemori Akane had close ties with her subordinates as she truly wished to get to know them better. Even after Kagari's interrogation of her at dinner and both Kougami and Kunizuka's indifference to her presence on regular days, the young Inspector felt that she and her colleagues (she refused to think of the Enforcers as her subordinates) had a unique bond, and hoped that they shared her sentiments, or at least tried to be more sociable. She could swear that the tension in the air during office hours was so thick at times that she could blast a hole through it with the Dominator on Destroy Decomposer mode.

Never did Akane imagine that her colleagues would be more friendly after her attempt to eat dessert in the office that day.

* * *

About twenty minutes before the second shift of the day started, Akane entered the office with her usual "good afternoon", which, of course, went unacknowledged by all except Masaoka, who offered a "same to you, young lady". Walking over to her desk, she fired up her computer, quickly making a quick reminder to herself to get a gift for Kunizuka as thanks for loaning her her tablet on her second day on the job when her own had malfunctioned.

Speaking of gifts, Akane remembered that she had yet to try the snack that both her friends passed her the previous day during their lunch date. Their open gift sat unwrapped in her briefcase, yet she had not been able to sample the treat due to a case that sent their unit out into the field, leaving her with no time to think about anything else except the safety of the citizens, and later the heap of paperwork to tackle upon returning to the office.

Since she had just had her lunch (courtesy of the cafeteria in the MWPSB building), why not try the snack? It would be her after-lunch dessert then, seeing as the selection of desserts in the cafeteria did not appeal to her. Besides, there would not be anyone reprimanding her for eating at her desk, seeing that Kagari openly displayed his giant jar of jelly beans on his desk and snacked on them frequently to the displeasure of a certain bespectacled Inspector.

_Well_, the Inspector thought as she opened her briefcase, _here goes nothing_.

* * *

Flip.

Flip.

A bored Kagari, who was currently off duty, was keeping himself occupied by flipping jelly beans into his mouth when one bounced off his face and onto the floor.

Cursing his luck (his flipping-jelly-beans-into-one's-mouth skill was unparalleled after all), he bent down and fished the runaway jelly bean from the floor, neatly flinging the brightly coloured candy into the wastepaper basket.

_What a waste of a jelly bean_, he sighed, straightening up from his current position. _Shame that Gino-san's off duty and didn't see that – bet he would have blown a gasket. Guess I should get anoth-_

Any further thoughts of jelly beans ground to a halt when his eyes zoomed in on to an all-too familiar white cancer stick in someone's possession. While this was a frequent sighting with Kou-chan and Karanomori-san, that particular cigarette was currently located in the cute newbie Inspector's right hand, slowly making its way towards her mouth...

"AKANE-CHAN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

At that point, to say that Inspector Tsunemori Akane was surprised would have been the understatement of the century.

A moment ago, she had been trying to peel open the paper wrapper of her chocolate cigarette with her teeth (it wouldn't budge when she used her hands). The next moment, she heard what was unmistakably Kagari's cry of her name before she found herself tackled off her office chair by him. Currently, both of them were sprawled on the floor in an ungainly heap, while the sound of chairs being rolled backwards indicated that the remaining three Enforcers were coming over to investigate the commotion. In the scuffle, Akane realised that her unopened chocolate cigarette had been flung to goodness knows where. However, that was the least of her worries then.

"Akane-chan. What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing. With. That. _Thing_?!" demanded Kagari, who had by then gotten into a crouch, very much like those he would be in when they were out tracking latent criminals.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Akane thought that with a furious expression twisting his face, Kagari truly looked every bit like the latent criminal he was supposed to be.

WHAP.

This time, Akane vaguely wondered how fast Kunizuka's thin guitar magazine was moving in order to draw out such a solid sound upon contact with Kagari's head.

"Calm down, Kagari -"

"OW! Kunizuka! Masaoka! Akane-chan's gotten hooked onto those nasty cancer sticks too!"

A pause.

Masaoka's face crinkled into a worried expression. Patting Akane's shoulder with his real hand, he chided in a fatherly manner, "Young lady, I understand that you're feeling plenty of pressure as an Inspector, but while there are many ways of dealing with stress, smoking should never be one of them. I may not be familiar with the hobbies of you youngsters, but there are plenty of other activities that you can do, such as painting, reading or something more healthy."

"Masaoka's right." Akane's head swivelled over to look at Kunizuka, who was looking – dare she say it? - rather concerned. "Listening to music authorised by the Sybil System is a cheaper alternative to smoking. If you don't mind, I could introduce you to different genres of music that you might enjoy."

Clearly, there was a misunderstanding.

"Um, everyone, I appreciate your concern, but-"

"Aha! Kou-chan must have tainted Akane-chan!"

All eyes instantly turned to said Enforcer, who raised an eyebrow. It was a logical argument, as Akane was frequently paired with Masaoka and Kougami on cases, so Akane would have spent more time with Kougami than most of the others in the division, hence she could have been influenced by Kougami to start smoking.

"Kou-chan..." Kagari all but growled, advancing towards Kougami with a murderous intent. While he might look up to Kou-chan, there was no way in hell the senior Enforcer was getting away with tainting the young Inspector (in his opinion).

"Um, everyone..." _Give me a chance to explain myself_, Akane begged silently.

"Hold your horses, Kagari." The dark haired Inspector pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking of how to express his opinions in a more eloquent manner (and avoid harming Kagari – no one had forgotten about Kagari's broken arm as a result of their sparring during training.)

"I admit that while your argument is logical, I would never encourage Inspector Tsunemori to pick up my smoking habits. Not only would it endanger her health, it would also affect her performance at work, and subsequently any chances of her being promoted."

_That's not even a real cigarette!_ Akane cried inwardly.

"Inspector."

Exhaling, Kougami turned to face Akane, making her look up to meet his gaze.

"You probably have family and friends who will care for your well-being. Consider your actions before you cause them to worry. Don't let your future go up in smoke. If you need... rehabilitation, we'll be able to support you, even if you see us Enforcers as uncivilised rogues."

However, the Enforcers of MWPSB Division One were stumped on what to do next when the poor Inspector slumped head first onto her desk, her soul all but flying out from her mouth from pure exasperation.

(Her chocolate cigarette from earlier was still MIA. Poor Akane.)

* * *

"Akane-chan? You look horrible," commented Yuki, absent-mindedly waving her fork in her friend's direction. Even though it was only 11 am, the Inspector sitting in front of her looked ready to curl up and sleep for a week.

An inaudible whimper made its way out of Akane's throat. The embroidered panda on the sleeve of her sky blue blouse mirrored her face – specifically her eyes. "You don't say..."

Poking a spoon into her dish of crème brûlée, Kaori frowned. "More work difficulties? Don't forget to sleep, Akane. By the way, how's that dessert we passed you a few days ago?"

Wrong words to say. Akane's head drooped lower, almost falling into the untouched slice of apple crumble placed in front of her. "Remind me to never eat it in front of my colleagues..."

* * *

**~ Omake ~**

"Alright!" Kagari smacked a hand against an empty easel while eyeing his fellow Enforcers. "We're here to brainstorm on the 'How To Prevent Akane-chan From Smoking' plan! So, does anyone have any ideas yet?" The Enforcers were currently sprawled around Masaoka's living quarters, which smelled faintly of paints and cigarette smoke (courtesy of a certain steel-eyed, dark haired Enforcer).

Silence.

"Come on you people! How can you not care about Akane-chan's health, especially you Kou-chan! You're the one who influenced her to smoke after all!"

Smacking Kagari with a nearby paint palette, Kunizuka offered, "Kougami, try not to smoke in front of Tsunemori so often. Kagari, keep acting as the court jester."

Amid Kagari's indignant splutters, Masaoka grunted in agreement. "Then, I'll be the young lady's surrogate father and adviser. I'll keep an eye on Kou too, to make sure he keeps to his end of the agreement."

"Do as you please, old man." With that, Kougami stalked out of the room and back to his workspace in the office, while Kagari bellowed curses after him about him "being an unfeeling animal".

He did, however, empty his ashtrays and discard the packet of cigarettes he had on hand.

* * *

A/N: First attempt at writing something for Psycho-Pass. I got the idea of chocolate cigarettes from Enid Blyton (there was a story she wrote in which a boy "smoking" those was mistaken for doing the real deed and was almost punished.)

I felt that there should be a reason why the Enforcers started to warm up towards newbie Inspector Tsunemori Akane-chan, and with that thought in mind, this came about.

Leave your opinions of this story on your way out, and have a good day ahead! :)


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